Practical Communication Tips for Any Situation

The top eight communication guidelines.

When we hear, “public speaking,” we often think of speeches and/or presentations given to a larger group of people. While this is public speaking, so are the one-on-one interactions you have in weekly team meetings, with your boss, or at networking events.

The same commandments that are applicable to larger speeches are applicable in each of these more-common situations.

Treat your one-on-one and intimate group conversations with as much preparation as you would a speaking scenario with a larger audience. Anytime you find yourself speaking with someone, consider what it is they are interested in knowing, identify what it is you are hoping to accomplish, and apply the eight guidlines commandments accordingly.

Top eight guidelines of communications:

1. Primacy/Recency Effect:

Just as in a speech to a large group of people, having engaging points to start the conversation as well as thought-provoking call-to-actions (CTAs) as you close is important in achieving your objective.

Regardless of who the individual is, you can guide the conversation through interesting talking points and specific CTAs that require the individual to engage with you.

2. Emotion/Conviction:

Speak with an appropriate level of emotion and conviction to match the subject matter. Doing so will show your grasp and investment in the content you’re discussing. This emotion can be communicated as excitement, concern, confidence, or passion followed with a conviction in specific ideas, solutions, or requests.

3. Body Language/Minimizing Distance:

How you hold yourself in front of an audience of five hundred will hold true with an audience of one.

Do what you need to feel confident in your meetings with individuals and small groups. Be well-dressed—appropriate for the occasion—and prepare in advance what you want to cover.

Doing so will keep your anxiety levels in check, help you hold good eye contact, and make it easier to use gestures to help guide your message. Essentially, be engaging and confident—not nervous and timid.

4. Rule of Three:

Where possible, use this principle to organize your thoughts.

Try compiling your content into three benefits, three areas of concern, three ways you seek to improve something, three reasons you should be promoted, etc.

Each of these three points will likely expand into additional points of explanation, but finding a way to organize them into clear “buckets,” utilizing the Rule of Three, will likely help your audience member remember what you discussed.

Chuck is an author, executive coach, keynote speaker, and CEO of Climb Leadership International. He coaches executives on public speaking and leadership communication. A 25-year veteran of Wall Street, he spent several of those in leadership positions at Bloomberg, BlackRock, and Citadel. He is also adjunct associate professor at Columbia University where he teaches leadership communication in The Fu Foundation Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science. He leverages his business leadership experience, as well as his hobby of mountain climbing, to provide an effective teaching narrative for professionals applying his tools and techniques. In his book A Climb to the Top, an Amazon best seller, draws on years of coaching and consulting experience to explain how you can become a powerful and persuasive communicator. Chuck is a graduate of Syracuse University and has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership.